Shaping the Modern West: The Role of the Executive Branch

Abstract

This article argues that President Clinton’s proclamations of new national monuments on federal lands have been faithful to a long tradition of executive leadership in setting aside public for conservation. The results of this tradition are plain to see in the colored swatches on maps of the American West marking our most poetic and beloved natural landscapes - our great systems ofnational parks, forests, monuments, wildlife refuges, and other conservation areas. Although many of these protective steps were initially controversial, they have been rewarded with near-universal acclaim by the most demanding judge of all - history. In practically every case, the passage of time has vindicated the executive’s judgment about the value to posterity of conserving large tracts of federal lands.